Monday, September 2, 2013

Book Spotlight~ Heartland by Tricia Andersen

Sloan
and Abbey move to Abbey’s hometown of Mount Vernon, Iowa, to start their new
lives together away from the chaos of New York City. And they are not alone – they are joined by
Gordon, Maggie, and Bartholomew each looking for a fresh start and new love in
the small rural town.

Their
marriage is put to the test by the reappearance of Abbey’s father, bullies from
her high school days, a business opportunity in Miami, and a new baby on the
way. When a person from their past comes
back looking to make Abbey his own again, will he be able to tear Sloan and
Abbey apart forever?

Excerpt:

Abbey stared at him silently as
the tears streamed down her cheeks. Suddenly, a deep scream erupted from her
throat. She launched herself at him, beating on his broad chest with her fists.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight to him. He could feel her
shake in fear.

“Michael is going to come
back,” she sobbed.

“No, he’s not,” Sloan murmured.
“He was caught.”

“I know him. He’ll find a way
to sweet talk a way out of there.”

“He can’t, Abigail. The whole
shooting was on the grocery store’s video surveillance. His public defender
told him to plead guilty. Besides, I have private investigators and accountants
and lawyers building a case against him for stealing your money.”

“Still…”

He cupped her chin in his hand and
lifted her face to his. “No, Abigail. Michael will not be free for a very, very
long time.”

“Sloan, Michael said he’d kill
anyone who comes near me. He was serious. I’ve never seen him so serious. I
can’t…”

“He will not touch you again.
Don’t you have faith in me?” He took her left hand in his and pressed it
against his chest. “Do you not feel my heart? It’s beating. Michael did not
stop me. He won’t. You need to have faith in me.”

“Michael said I belong to him,”
she whimpered.

“Belong to him?” He turned her
hand around so the back of it faced her. Her wedding band and the diamond
pressed against it glimmered in the dim hotel room light. “I have a piece of
paper that says both I and the State of New
York believe otherwise. Abigail, I am your
husband. You are my wife. You are mine. Not his.”

Abbey pulled her hand free then
buried herself against Sloan’s chest, clinging tight to his T-shirt. “I am so
sorry for what happened.”

Sloan held her close to him,
gently stroking his hand through her brown hair. “You did nothing wrong to
apologize for.”

“Do you really think Michael
won’t bother us?”

“Absolutely. He will be sealed
away in that prison for a very long time. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I will
take it.”

He met her gaze as she looked
up to him. “What did you want?”

“To be locked in a room for
five minutes alone with him. To give me a chance to set things right. Michael
would not come out of that room alive. I want a chance to get my revenge for
him hurting what I love most, for hurting you and Ame.”

He felt the urge for revenge
burn inside him. He wanted it more than anything. So badly, he could taste it.
He gazed down at Abbey. He could tell by the audible gasp in her throat and her
wide eyes that she could tell how he felt. He kissed her on the forehead as he
forced his emotions under control. I’ll
never let anything happen to her or Ame again.

Author Bio:

Tricia Andersen lives in Iowa with
her husband, Brian and her three children – her sons, Jake and Jon, and her
daughter, Alex. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a
Bachelor of Arts in English and from KirkwoodCommunity
College with an Associate of Arts
degree in Communications Media/Public Relations. Along with writing
(which she loves to do), Tricia coaches and participates in track and field,
does kickboxing, reads, sews and is involved in many of her children's
activities.

Tricia is one of the hosts of
the Blog Talk Radio show Freshly Booked, a part of Writers Online Network. She is also a member of the Romance Writers
of America and RWA Chapter 177 From the Heart Romance Writers.